Children's rights organisations will often not have the resources to bring or participate in court cases that involve children's rights, to undertake extensive or complex advocacy campaigns that require legal expertise, or even to pay the full costs of legal assistance required for the day-to-day functioning of the organisation. To respond to these unmet needs, lawyers in many parts of the world may be willing to offer legal assistance to organisations that could otherwise not afford it on a pro bono basis, meaning that their services are provided free of charge.
Pro bono legal assistance
Lawyers offer pro bono legal assistance in a large variety of legal matters, from representation in individual cases and public interest litigation to broader legal research and analysis or technical assistance with organisational concerns. Pro bono legal services are no different in quality from paid legal services, and lawyers typically agree to help out on a project-by-project basis. Even though pro bono lawyers won't be billing you for their time, it's important to note that you may still be expected to cover certain costs associated with a case or matter, like court fees or travel expenses. When you accept these services, you should be sure that it is clear for what costs, if any, your organisation will be responsible.
Pro bono clearinghouses
Many bar associations encourage or even require lawyers to offer pro bono legal services. Yet, finding a lawyer with the time, interest and appropriate skills to offer pro bono legal assistance on a particular project is not always an easily accomplished or straightforward task. Increasingly, though, new organisations called pro bono clearinghouses are emerging to match organisations in need of legal assistance with lawyers who are willing and able to offer this assistance. Pro bono clearinghouses operate on the international, national and local level, and are often a good point of first contact. Clearinghouses generally work independently, and each will have its own methods for vetting organisations and lawyers interested in receiving or providing pro bono legal services, assessing an organisation's legal needs, and finding a lawyer or lawyers with the right background and experience to meet those needs. More detailed descriptions of international pro bono clearinghouses and a working list of national clearinghouses in operation are available at the end of this section.
University legal clinics
Many universities and law schools have legal clinics or pro bono programmes run by professors, staff lawyers, and law students, and may be similarly able to offer legal assistance to children's rights organisations free of charge. Much like professional bar associations, these schools increasingly encourage or require their students to offer pro bono legal assistance, and also serve as a good information resource on local free legal advice or representation services. Legal clinics vary widely in their reach and topic matter; some may offer only direct services to individuals, while others are willing to undertake broader legal matters including children's rights work.
Other arrangements
To facilitate litigation in the public interest – cases brought against the government to advance human rights – some jurisdictions have laws that would allow for lawyers bringing these kinds of cases to recover their fees and costs from the government if they win. It may also be possible for lawyers to recover fees and costs from a private defendant, although this can depend on the nature of the case. If your organisation does not have the resources to pay lawyers outright, you may in some jurisdictions be able to work out a contingency fee or condititional fee arrangement. Under these arrangements, lawyers typically agree to take cases with the understanding that they will only collect fees if and when they obtain a successful outcome.
While government-sponsored public interest litigation and arrangements that do not require the payment of legal fees up front may in many ways enhance access to justice for children and children's rights organisations, it is important to be clear that these are not pro bono legal services. As lawyers who take cases with the expectation that fees will be recovered do ultimately hope to be paid for their services, they are not technically working free of charge. CRIN has published a guide to strategic litigation and children's rights that explains these kinds of arrangements in more detail.
Resources on international pro bono legal assistance
Global pro bono atlas
The Pro Bono Institute has published a series of comprehensive individual country reports on obtaining legal assistance, compiled in a global pro bono atlas. The reports review pro bono practices and opportunities and cover legal aid programmes, unmet needs for legal advice and representation, and relevant professional conduct laws and rules for legal professionals.
International Bar Association: InternationalProBono.com
InternationalProBono.com has collected resources from those involved in pro bono work around the globe, including news, events, international and national pro bono declarations, a directory of pro bono clearinghouses, and links to other websites with information about pro bono legal assistance.
- Pro bono at a glance, a list of individual jurisdictions' definitions and understandings of pro bono work
- Compilation of Pro Bono Research, a collection of defintions, standards, and descriptions of pro bono legal assistance across individual jurisdictions
Pro Bono Clearinghouse Manual: Resources for developing pro bono legal services
PILnet and A4ID have jointly published a Pro Bono Clearinghouse Manual, which explains how to start and maintain a pro bono clearinghouse and to foster a more supportive environment for pro bono activity, including many useful contacts and additional resources.
Vance Center Library, New York City Bar Justice Center
The Vance Center digital library offers resources on international pro bono practice and other materials relevant to human rights advocacy.
- The pro bono chain - a visual representation of relationships within a system that provides voluntary legal assistance free of charge
International pro bono clearinghouses
PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest Law
PILnet's Budapest-based Global Pro Bono Clearinghouse places requests for pro bono legal assistance. The organisation also operates a number of national-level clearinghouses and works in collaboration with other clearinghouses located in Europe and eslewhere. PILnet helps organisations seeking assistance to identify their pro bono legal needs, and has published general clearinghouse guidelines to assist NGOs in this process. Essentially, these guidelines help to identify a specific legal problem or problems and to describe the ways in which a lawyer would be able to assist your organisation. Notably, PILnet also offers assistance to NGOs and universities looking to develop or strengthen legal aid programmes, and regularly works with national and local governments and bar associations to develop and operate legal aid and legal information programmes.
Advocates for International Development: A4ID
A4ID's broker service matches organisations in need of legal assistance with legal experts for projects that in some way seek to eradicate poverty or promote international development. Organisations wishing to work with the service will first need to become an A4ID development partner, after which they are able to submit a document summarising their legal needs for a particular project. A4ID also offers general information on the best ways to use legal support and the kinds of projects that lend themselves particularly well to pro bono legal assistance.
TrustLaw Connect
TrustLaw Connect aims to meet the legal service needs of NGOs with limited means. Eligible organisations can apply for membership in the TrustLaw Connect network and, once accepted, post requests for legal assistance on specific projects. TrustLaw Connect offers step-by-step instructions on how organisations can seek legal support through their network, and general guidelines on the kinds of assistance that can be provided. Among other things, TrustLaw Connect offers opportunities for seeking assistance with public interest litigation matters.
i-Probono
i-Probono's online network is designed to connect organisations from around the world in need of legal advice directly with lawyers and students able to offer pro bono assistance. Organisations can create simple profiles on the site and post projects, specifying what kind of volunteer they're looking for and what particular skills they require. Using these criteria, the website will match your organisation with suitable people, enable you to contact these individuals, and alert volunteers meeting your specifications about the possibility of working on your project.